Far right fizzles in Portugal’s local elections

The far-right Chega party underperformed expectations and failed to conquer any major cities in Sunday’s nationwide local elections in Portugal.

Chega only managed to secure mayoralties in Albufeira, Entroncamento and São Vicente, three municipalities respectively located in the southern Algarve region, the interior Médio Tejo area, and the island of Madeira. Despite its failure to take over significant city halls, the far-right party increased its presence in municipal councils across the country and could play a major role in shaping policy in several municipalities.

Party leader André Ventura said “this was a good night,” but admitted Chega, which ran candidates in 307 of the country’s 308 municipalities, hadn’t achieved its objectives. While the number of electors backing the ultranationalist group tripled in comparison to the results recorded when local elections were last held in 2021, its total vote count on Sunday was less than half of what it received when a snap parliamentary election was held five months ago. 

Defeats in places like the fortress city of Elvas and in Sintra, where far-right influencer Rita Matias came in third place, suggest the party underperforms when its charismatic leader Ventura is not on the ballot.

It was also a tough night for the Socialist Party, which lost tight races in Portugal’s two largest cities. In Lisbon, Socialist Alexandra Leitão failed to unseat incumbent center-right Mayor Carlos Moedas, while in Porto conservative Pedro Duarte beat former MEP and Socialist candidate Manuel Pizarro.

Despite polls suggesting he was headed for defeat, Moedas was backed by 30,000 more voters than in 2021. The results suggest electors do not hold him accountable for last month’s deadly funicular disaster, the causes of which remain under investigation.

“I asked to have just one more vote [than my rival], but the voters gave me 30,000 more,” Moedas said in a celebratory speech. Falling just shy of securing an absolute majority of seats in the municipal council, the former European commissioner for science promised to lead a “stable” minority government which will negotiate with everyone — even Chega.

Beyond Lisbon and Porto, the Socialists secured significant victories in the university city of Coimbra and in Faro, the capital of the southern Algarve region, where center-left candidate António Pina beat the far-right in winning over voters who feel abandoned by the hyper-centralized Portuguese state. But those wins came with losses in smaller municipalities which were conquered by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s center-right Social Democratic Party.

While Socialist Party leader José Luís Carneiro pointed out the center-left won far more votes than in last May’s snap parliamentary election, when Chega outperformed it to become the country’s leading opposition party, Sunday’s results bode poorly ahead of January’s presidential election. The Socialists are due to choose their candidate to succeed outgoing President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa next week.

Montenegro can celebrate the fact his center-right candidates now govern in a majority of the country’s city councils — but that increases the pressure on the prime minister to take significant steps to solve a housing crisis that has seen prices soar from Viana do Castelo to Vila Real de Santo António. The prime minister is earmarking €2.1 billion of the country’s 2026 national budget for housing expenses and will be pushing loyal mayors to use that cash to produce results as quickly as possible. 

Over the past two years Portuguese voters have participated in three national elections and a European Parliament vote. Despite projections that suggested there could be record-high abstention rates, nearly 60 percent of eligible voters cast ballots. 

That participation — the highest recorded in a local vote since 2005 — may have been driven by the high stakes in what are believed to have been the most contested municipal elections in Portuguese history. Term limits and the recruitment of dozens of mayors for national office meant there was no incumbent running for reelection in nearly half of the country’s 308 municipalities.

There’s no immediate relief in sight for Portuguese voters, who will be called back to the polls for the presidential election in January. Among the candidates are Chega’s Ventura and Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo — an official praised for his role in overseeing the country’s Covid vaccine rollout, but opposed by many who are reluctant to have a member of the military as head of state.

This article has been updated.